Tag Archives: blogging

It’s no secret I struggle to finish things. In fact, last year, I made it my yearly focus to finish what I started, but then got distracted by other fun ideas and didn’t actually succeed in finishing much of anything! Oops. Life happens and all is fair in love and creativity, right? This year I’m going to try something a bit different. I’m going to *try* to join in on the community link ups that focus on FINISHING projects completely, namely the 2018 Finish-A-Long hosted by a group of bloggers across the world, and One Monthly Goal hosted by Patty at Elm Street Quilts. In my style, I’ve already missed the link up for the January goal for One Monthly Goal, but perhaps I’ll get February’s posted in time! I’m sneaking in right under the wire for the Finish-A-Long Quarter 1 link up, but I made it!

There is a lot going on behind the scenes here, between preparing for my QuiltCon classes and lecture, working for the Quilter’s Planner manning the Instagram feed and leading a January daily photo challenge as well as helping guide the 2018 Block of the Month Sampler sew along (so many fun things happening over in the QP community!), working on the development of a couple of patterns I hope to release before summer hits, and of course being a full time mom and wife, so I don’t imagine my lists will be long. But any progress is progress, and one more way to help keep me motivated can’t be a bad thing.

As seen in December when I joined the 31 Day Blog Writing Challenge, committing to a public community goal helps motivate me to meet my goals. While I didn’t post a blog post every day in December (note that I went into it not expecting to post every day), I did write or work on blog posts nearly every day and I published 8 posts for the month when my monthly average for the 6 months prior was 2-3 posts. That’s a marked improvement and I consider my goal met.

So here I go again, publicly announcing my goals so that maybe the thought that you or someone out there is eagerly anticipating my finish, cheering me on, and helping spark my fire even when I’m feeling heavily weighted with other responsibilities, will help me stay on track.

The first quarter of this year includes a good amount of travel and preparation for QuiltCon, which is in late February in Pasadena, California, so I know most of my time will be spent fine-tuning my classes, preparing handouts, and practicing my lecture so that I can share my knowledge, inspiration, and tips the best I possibly can (It’s not too late to sign up for the Advanced Quilt Photography classes I’m teaching with Michelle Bartholomew at QuiltCon, or to register for my Quilts to Mark Milestones lecture Sunday morning, so go register if you will be in Pasadena and haven’t already!). The Finish-A-Long guidelines clearly encourage us to set high goals, but I also know I need to set myself up for success so I don’t get too overwhelmed or discouraged, so I’m going to start with four projects I hope to have completely finished by early April when Q1 ends:

1 – One Year of Stitches Embroidery hoop from 2017

I still have about 14 days worth of stitches to complete to have fully finished the stitching for my 364 days of stitching, 1 year of stitches freestyle embroidery project I took on in 2017. The photo included above is an old oldold one from May 2017, so there is MUCH more stitched at this point (see the photo with the projects together to get a peek!)! I want to get the stitches finished and documented, post the fully updated post on IG at my @nq1yearofstitches account, publish a blog post with monthly updates that has been in draft form since May 2017, and fully finish the hoop so it’s ready to hang on my wall.

2 – Rainbow Moonstone Pillow

I want to completely finish my epically gorgeous (modest, aren’t I? haha) rainbow Moonstone pillow I made using Giuseppe @giucy_giuce’s Moonstone quilt EPP pattern and Alison Glass fabrics. Right now, it’s fully stitched together, stitched onto the backing, and most of the papers are removed. I still need to finish removing the papers, trim the seam allowance edges of the backing fabric, layer, baste and quilt the pillow front, make the pillow back (I want it to have a zipper closure–I haven’t yet decided whether it will be a side seam zipper or a zipper across the backing yet–and finish the pillow. I’m using Aurifil monofilament thread to stitch and quilt this, and it’s an exciting new look (it really is invisible!).

3 – Secret Sewing Project

I’m doing some secret sewing for a book release blog tour in March, and unfortunately can’t tell you much more than that. I have my project chosen and fabrics pulled, but haven’t cut into it yet. I’m planning to use some thrifted leather and scraps of Oakshott Lipari red fabrics in this one, paired with Essex Linen in charcoal. It’s a small project, but I’m excited about this one! This project is my given, since the fact that I have a hard deadline means that I will finish this project no matter what. I don’t mind setting myself up for some success, though, so it’s included here.

4 – Max’s Eye Spy Picnic Plaid Quilt

This one is a stretch only because of the limited time I have this quarter, but I want to put this quilt at the top of my list. I began it back in 2016 during the Quilter’s Planner Sew Along and have the full quilt top finished and the backing pieced. I need to layer and baste the quilt (my brick wall when it comes to finishes!), quilt it, bind it, finish it, and finally gift it. I’m thinking Max has most likely forgotten about it at this point, so it will be a fun surprise when (if?… no, WHEN) I finish it.

So there you have it. Think I can do it? I’m excited at the prospect of having a little extra motivation to finish these projects, and also hope this can get me back into the thick of the quilt blogging community. There’s so much inspiration to share! Here’s to fabulous finishes!

I’ve finally decided that the day isn’t going to arrive when I have a window of “free” time where I’m just sitting around wondering what I could do. The past few months have been really busy and exciting with a lot of new opportunities and projects, and while a lot of big projects are finally wrapped up–the photography for the Quilter’s Planner is complete and the amazing planner is now available for sale, Quilt Theory has been announced and our premier line of pattern cards have been released, I just finished and mailed a quilt sample for a pattern that will appear in the February 2017 issue of Love, Patchwork & Quilting magazine, I’m manning the Quilter’s Planner Instagram feed and leading its (and my) very first Sew Along–there seems to always be one more thing. I’ve finally decided that I’m going to make time to work on little side projects, AND I’m going to make time to blog regularly again so that I can share my projects, process, and inspiration with you. You can hold me accountable for taking time to sew for me, okay?

To kick off this new resolution of making time for my own sewing on top of my more business-directed projects, I made three more blocks as part of the #100days100blocks challenge hosted by Angie from Gnome Angel. I think I left off around block 22 and the challenge is now heading into the 80s, but as I do with most projects, I set my goal low and I’m happy with just picking up again and making whatever blocks I can. As you may or may not remember, I am making my blocks entirely out of old and worn or thrifted garments, including a black leather skirt, some wool slacks, some cotton-poly blend men’s shirts, and an old pair of corduroy maternity pants. It has been *really* fun sewing with different materials, and with a mostly grey-scale color palette, I’m really focusing on textures within the blocks.

The environmental impact of our actions and the philosophy promoted through Sherri Lynn Wood’s #makedoquilt project are a large part of what spurred me to use only thrifted materials in these blocks, and so I’m presenting each block on Instagram photographed with some plant or natural phenomenon. In each description, I am sharing some information about the species or some interesting fact about its relationship with the rest of the environment. My hope is that by learning more about the world around you, you will feel more invested in preserving and improving it, or at the very least, minimizing damage done to it. This is truly a fun project that combines three of my passions: quilting, the environment, and photography. Since it has been far too long since I’ve shared my creative process with you, I thought I’d share my three latest blocks and descriptions here, too. All blocks are from Tula Pink’s City Sampler, 100 Modern Quilt Blocks book, and so I’m calling my quilt the Thrifted City Sampler (#thriftedcitysampler).

Block 73: old wool trousers, thrifted cotton-poly men’s shirt

Remember the milkweed from Block 15? Well here it is in all its seed dispersing glory! After a fun chat with Sharon from Sharon Holland Designs the other day about the amazing seed dispersal technique of jewelweed, I decided to make these next posts all about seed dispersal. As with any organism, the continuation of the species is an extremely important aspect–almost THE main purpose–of life. Since plants can’t move, they’ve developed some really clever ways to ensure their potential offspring (aka seeds) get spread far and wide and/or have a good chance of success.

Milkweed seeds are attached to a thick, light weight fluff tuft that, once matured, emerges from the dried, cracked open seed pod and is carried by the wind. Wind dispersal!! This helps spread the species into new areas, giving the species as a whole a greater chance to survive and thrive. Can you name another common plant that uses wind seed dispersal??

We are fully in the most drab time of year in Maine. The gorgeous leaves are mostly brown and dropped, the flowers are in their winter form or gone, everything is finding dormancy. But plant identification is still not only possible, but fun! I hope you enjoy finding the beauty in winter weeds with me.

These asters have a small tuft that allows for wind dispersal, but they also use power in numbers to their advantage. A super hardy weed, asters produce many flowers, approximately 300 individual flowers per flower head, with many seeds resulting. The sheer number of seeds helps promote the success of their species. Paired with the wind, it’s no wonder there are asters everywhere!

Another fun installment in the “amazing seed dispersal” adventure is burdock. Burdock (Arctium) is equipped with hooks and spines that latch onto any creature passing by too closely (just like Velcro). The creature continues walking until the spikey, itchy seed pod irritates him enough, spurring him to remove it and toss it aside, hopefully (for the burdock) on fertile ground. This allows the seeds to spread far, far further than a stationary plant could reach. While this is a super cool seed dispersal trait, anyone who has “fixed” her children’s coat, hair, and wool mittens after the child has discovered a burdock plant fully understands the annoyance the poor deer, bear, foxes, coyotes, and other creatures must feel toward this and similar plants! (Note that I was VERY careful not to let my block touch the seeds when taking this photo. Those barbs are sharp and definitely would result in pulls in the fabric.)

I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing these blocks and their accompanying environmental tidbits. I’m looking forward to updating you on the other small side projects I’ve been working on between deadline projects, AND hope to even finish some of the many (oh, embarrassingly many) works in progress that are stuck in the “soooo close to finished but temporarily abandoned pile”. I have so much fun to share with you! Hope you’ve been well, and I’m looking forward to being more present in this space again.

I’m thinking I should rename my blog “Babies on Quilts” these days. Babies abound in these parts (seriously, don’t drink the water if you don’t want to join in the new baby snuggles), so many quilts are being created for these new little members of our world. I’ve written about how wonderful it feels to give a quilt to a brand new baby, with wishes that the quilt will accompany the child on his/her grand journey through life. Today I get to write about the immense joy of receiving such a quilt from some dear friends.

I received the sweetest package from my dear quilty friends Stephanie and Michelle (from Late Night Quilter–we are sewing soul sisters half a country apart). They made a gorgeous Delectable Mountain quilt for Finn and included some sweet additions for mommy–a teething necklace and magnetic hexie puff, both in my favorite color!–as well an adorable applique bird onesie for Finn. Finnian loves the quilt already, and clearly the sleepy magic is in it. The first three times I put him on the quilt, he settled right down to sleep!

Some big baby laughs before settling down to sleep.Babies on quilts–I just can’t get enough!

This quilt is the perfect size to take with us everywhere. It fits right in my bag, and will be making memories with us daily, even if that means mostly diaper changes and spit up-filled tummy time in the beginning. Thank you so very much, Stephanie & Michelle. Your love is clearly in this quilt, and it makes me so happy to see it be a part of our daily lives.

This gift is just one example of the wonderful community of quilters of which I’m blessed to be a part. I have been overwhelmed by the generosity and kindness of my quilting blogging community, and I not only enjoy conversing with many of you via blog comments and resulting email conversations, but I find myself calling many of you friends. I want to extend a special thanks to Nancy–your care package with such well thought gifts for the entire family is cherished and still appreciate daily in our home. Just yesterday, Maddie made a very special spirograph flower for me to hang on our bedroom door. ❤

Yvonne at Quilting Jetgirl, another dear friend in our blogging community, wrote a wonderful reflective post about community and what it takes to cultivate relationships with people you know purely through blogging. It’s all about authentic connection. I love that her final tip on how to cultivate community is to be you. That’s part of what I love about blogging–I’m free to be me, and share the parts of life and my creative process that inspire me. Amazingly, by doing that, I in turn inspire you, or at least inspire the spark of conversation that begins a relationship. It was just such a spark that began my conversation with Stephanie and Michelle over a year ago, and since then we’ve not only become friends, but we’ve also roomed together at Quilt Con, worked together on many projects, and provided daily support and encouragement to each other from a far.

Thank you, Stephanie and Michelle. Thank you, Nancy. Thank you, Yvonne. And many, many thanks to all of you readers, many of whom I’m now blessed to call friends.

Blog sponsorship, where a company or shop compensates a blogger for promoting them, is an idea that I’ve been wrestling with for a while. For some reason, the thought of seeking sponsorship for my blog initially dredged up uncertainty. My number one goal with this blog is to share excitement, inspiration, and project ideas, as well as to create community among us like-minded quilters. I value the relationships and conversations that happen here greatly, and do not want to compromise that in any way. There are a lot of great reasons why quilty bloggers choose not to accept sponsors or participate in affiliate marketing, but after reading them and reflecting on myself as a quilty blogger, I’ve decided that seeking sponsorship was the way I want to go. Who wouldn’t want to get paid for doing what they love to do? Here’s a great reflection on why one crafter chose not to do affiliate marketing and her reflections on choosing not to accept sponsorship, and here’s a post on why affiliate marketing is not as scary as some people think.

I am confident that as I partner with new sponsors, I will NOT lose my authenticity. In fact, having sponsorship will help me devote more time toward participating in the quilting community. I’m not a salesperson. I’m an excited and eager quilter who loves to share helpful tips, ideas, and reactions to new tools, products, and fabrics that I find exceptional. I will not compromise my dedication to being true to myself and honest with you. If I love a product or shop, I want to share that with you. And if that product or shop wants to compensate me in some small way for doing so, then that’s okay with me.

Personally, when I’m trying to decide what brand or style of product to buy, I ask my friends and family for recommendations, especially those who I know have used the product or who have similar taste. One thing I can promise to you, as I head into this next phase of my quilting and blogging, is that when I say a product or fabric is awesome, I mean it’s AWESOME. I will have put the product or service to the test, and decided that it is good enough to recommend to my readers & friends. My opinions and ideas are my own, and they cannot be bought. At the same time, if I can help pay for groceries by sharing my honest opinions with you, I’m there.

What kinds of products and services do you want to hear about? Do you enjoy reading product reviews on the tools I find key to my quilting? Giveaways from awesome fabric shops and companies? Coupon codes?

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If you are interested in being a sponsor of Night Quilter, contact me at thenightquilter(at)gmail(dot)com for rates and more information. Selection is made with great consideration to this site’s content and focus in mind.

This year I was honored to be a part of the New Quilt Blogger Blog Hop organized by Beth at Plum & June. Through this blog hop, I got to know so many awesome quilters, helped jump start a couple of awesome friendships, and learned a ton about quilting and blogging in general. If you missed it, my introductory post is here: Let’s Get Acquainted! It includes everything you ever wanted to know about me, and then some.

As of last week, the final round of new quilt bloggers have posted their introductory posts, so the hop is officially complete! For those of you who haven’t had a chance to hop around to all of the awesome new quilt bloggers in the group, here’s your chance. Compiled by Yvonne at Quilting Jetgirl, here is a complete list of all of the new quilt bloggers and their introductory blog posts in no particular order. Yes, there were a TON of us… pace yourself! There is no better way to get to know some new, follow-worthy bloggers. Enjoy, and tell them Kitty @ Night Quilter sent you!

About Me

I’m a stay at home mom of three littles, wife, sewist of quilts and other beautiful things, knitter, gardener, yogi, and all in all lover of life. With three little kids, my only sewing time is after bedtime. Thus the Night Quilter was born. This blog is all about my stitching: both quilting and knitting projects, as well as the creation of my own patterns and any other inspiration I find along the way.

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Copywrite & Disclosure

All images, text, and content on this site are the sole property of Kitty Wilkin of Night Quilter and may not be reproduced, copied, derived, displayed, sold, republished, or transmitted without my permission. I reserve all exclusive rights.
In addition to providing blog sponsorship and paid advertising, I may also occasionally include an affiliate link or a product review within blog posts. I may receive compensation for these, but my opinion is always my own. If I recommend a product or shop, it's because I think it is awesome and I want to share my excitement and experience with you. These sponsorships and affiliate relationships are what help fund writing and maintaining this blog.